


Haply I think on thee

by fits_in_frames



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-13
Updated: 2007-09-13
Packaged: 2018-01-21 01:37:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1532885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fits_in_frames/pseuds/fits_in_frames
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they meet for the first time, Jensen's having a bad day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Haply I think on thee

**Author's Note:**

> _yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,_  
>  _haply i think on thee and then my state_  
>  _like to the lark at break of day arising,_  
>  _from sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate_  
>  {william shakespeare // sonnet twenty-nine}  
> 
> 
> Sort of a prequel to [More Than Granted](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1532876). Inspired by [these idiots](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/kellist85/d718d9b6.jpg).

When they meet for the first time, Jensen's having a bad day. He's been carted between Vancouver and L.A., his sister just broke up with her boyfriend, the shirt he was supposed to wear got ruined in the wash, and he's absolutely starving. The last thing he wants to do is a network reading, but they've had a hell of a time getting this other guy, this up-and-coming Jared Padalecki guy, to proverbially sit still for more than five minutes. So he bites the bullet and goes into the WB offices, and meets Jared and kind of hates him a little bit: he's entirely too enthusiastic for nine in the morning, and he's got a donut and coffee, and he's so tall he dwarfs Jensen's six-one without even flinching.

By the end of the reading, not only does he not hate Jared, he kind of likes him, kind of a lot. They're Texas boys, middle children, and they laugh at the same stupid jokes, and Jared's pretty much got the most infectious smile ever. And then, the guy practically reads his mind.

"Hey, so, you want to grab a bite to eat or something?" he says without looking up from his phone.

Jensen almost says "marry me" instead of "yes."

*

The first time Jared sleeps overnight at his apartment, he forgets. He comes out of his bedroom in the morning, wearing nothing but boxers, scratching absently as his belly, and turns on the light, sets up the coffee maker and pours himself a glass of orange juice before he realizes there's someone sleeping on his couch. He doesn't have his contacts in and it freaks him out for a second, but then Jared moans, "Jensen, what time is it?"

Turns out Jared was so drunk last night that he couldn't remember where his hotel was, but he knew the exact address of Jensen's apartment. Jensen apparently let him in, half-awake, and said he could crash on the couch. He fell asleep fully-clothed, and now his shirt and jeans are all wrinkled and twisted and the red lines from the couch pillows stand out on his face, which is pale with sleep and residual drunkenness. He almost leaves, but Jensen insists that he stays at least for breakfast. Poor guy is hung-over, and Jensen is not having him go out in public like that.

He throws on a faded, rumpled Van Halen t-shirt and puts in his contacts while Jared pisses. He catches himself in the mirror: he's got a weekend's worth of stubble on his chin and crow's feet around his eyes. He's about to have a one-man pity party when Jared calls to him.

"Hey, where's your cereal?"

They eat shredded wheat out of mismatched bowls and drink coffee out of paper cups, standing at the counter, and Jensen tells a story about how his brother almost set their kitchen on fire once because he accidentally set a package of microwave popcorn for 30 minutes instead of 3 minutes. It's not really that funny, but Jared laughs anyway, and it makes Jensen feel young again.

*

They're filming their first episode with Jeff, and emotions are running high everywhere, so Jared decides to lighten the mood by talking in a slow Texas drawl between scenes. It's kind of funny, but it's also kind of really fucking annoying, because Jensen finds himself slipping back into his accent when he's not really thinking about it. Every time Jared catches him, he practically cackles and runs away before Jensen can tackle him, and Jensen always starts out pissed and ends up grinning.

He sits with Jared at lunch, of course, and Jeff comes over to join them. As per usual, Jared is stuffing his face, so Jeff talks to Jensen about acting and girlfriends and life in general. When Jared goes to get himself another soda, Jeff leans in and says, "What's with you two?"

Jensen almost chokes on his water. "I'm sorry?"

"You and Jared. What's with you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Jeff gives him that "you're a really bad liar and I see straight through you" smirk-slash-head wag he gives Jared when he's bragging about snowboarding or horseback riding or something else that he is equally bad at.

"We're friends," Jensen says, but the familiar statement suddenly feels like lead on his tongue.

Jeff tilts his head and gives him A Look, stands up, picks up his plate, and walks off. Jared comes back a moment later with a soda and another plate of fried chicken.

Jensen sighs and looks between Jared and his newest edible conquest. He doesn't even try to stop his accent when he says, "Man, if you have a heart attack out there today, I'm not givin' you CPR."

"Oh, you're just sayin' that," Jared drawls around a mouthful of potatoes, and flicks a green bean at him.

He half-heartedly throws a used napkin at Jared, but it doesn't make it. Jared grins.

"Shut up," Jensen says, but he can't stop smiling.

*

Jensen's having a crappy summer. He's always had crappy summers, for as long as he can remember, but this summer feels particularly crappy, and it's not just because he's single and it's not just because he's working and it's not just because he's away from Vancouver, which feels more like home to him than even his parents' house. He decides to give in to his sister's request to fly out to L.A. for a week, partially so she can see what he does, and partially so he won't be alone in his apartment at night.

He buys a bottle of tequila one night, because she wants to drink and he wants to drink and the worst thing that can happen is Mom and Dad find out. They sit on the floor, surrounded by pillows and cushions, like they used to when they were little, only now their friend Jose Cuervo is joining in on the fun. He's pouring them each a third shot when his phone vibrates in his pocket. It's Jared. He picks up and soon finds out that Jared is drunk, much drunker than they are, yelling into his phone like it's a badly-wired microphone. He pulls the phone away from his ear for a second, then says, "Call me in the morning, Jay, you're wasted." Someone grabs Jared's phone, and then Sandy is apologizing for her boyfriend's stupidity. She hangs up before Jensen can say goodbye, but he doesn't mind. He's putting salt on his fist when he catches his sister staring at him.

"What?" he says, arranging the grains into a neat line.

"That was Jared?" she says, sounding surprisingly sober.

"Yeah," he says, pulling the plate of lime slices closer.

Mackenzie purses her mouth and raises one eyebrow and puts some salt on her hand.

"What?" he says again.

"You're just--" She pauses to lick her hand, then, around a tongueful of salt, "You've been pissed off since I got here, and now you're grinning like an idiot." She throws back her tequila and grabs a lime.

"Oh," Jensen says, and does his shot. The tequila burns, but it feels good going down. "So?"

She sticks out her bottom lip and shrugs. "I'm just saying."

He glares at her sideways and throws one of the smaller pillows, which misses her head by about six inches and goes sliding on the floor. She grins and whacks him in the head with a cushion, and they smack each other around, completely forgetting about the liquor. He ends up tickling her mercilessly like he used to when they were kids, until they're both out of breath, and she conks out ten minutes later.

He rubs her arm until she's half-awake, then gets her settled on her blow-up mattress, and kisses her forehead before turning off the light and getting in his own bed. And no matter how hard he tries not to, between his sister's little feminine snores and the not-so-quiet night sounds of Los Angeles, he keeps hearing Jared's voice in his ears.

*

It's midnight on Friday (or Saturday, or whatever), and they've been up and working since four in the morning. Jensen's mouth tastes like stale water and old coffee and every muscle in his body feels tense. Jared, on the other hand, is running around set and crashing into people and generally acting like a miscreant. Jensen kind of wants to kill him, but then someone's calling them over, they have to do one last scene and then they can go home for the weekend.

"Thank God," Jared says, practically running up behind Jensen and smoothing out his shirt. He grins at Jensen, and Jensen doesn't say anything.

They block the scene quickly and start shooting. Sam and Dean are supposed to be celebrating that bastard Gordon getting caught by the police, and Jared's gleeful as a sparkler on the Fourth of July. But Jensen can't get into it, he just can't--he's too tired and pissed and frustrated. He apologizes to the director, and walks a little ways into the brush. He hears the crew talking, probably about him, and then it just stops. Someone's footsteps crunch up behind him, and he shoves his hands in his pockets (he almost forgets that these are not his pants and freaks out that his lighter is gone) and stares up at the sky. He doesn't even have to turn around, because a second later, he feels Jared's warm hand land on his shoulder. He listens to Jared breathe, watches the little wisps of condensation peeking into his field of vision, until the tight something in his chest loosens and he shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

"C'mon," Jared says quietly, "we've almost got it."

"Yeah," Jensen says, and clears his throat, rubs his nose. "Sorry."

"'Sokay," Jared says. He puts his arm around Jensen's shoulders and ushers him back to set, where they nail the scene in one last take.

*

They go out to dinner on a rare night in L.A. for Jared and Sandy's third anniversary. Danneel's supposed to join them, but she cancels at the last minute; she has to work late. So just the three of them--Jared, Sandy and Jensen--go to a casual restaurant that still serves the bubbly stuff, and they eat and drink and exchange war stories until they can hardly stand up. They take a cab back to Sandy's apartment, and Jensen walks them up. He doesn't plan on coming in--it's their anniversary, after all--but Jared insists and tugs on his sleeve. Jensen feels awkward as hell, but he lets Jared pull him in anyway. Sandy's already poured herself a glass of wine by the time Jensen makes it to the kitchen. Jared asks her if he could have a minute alone with his costar, and she says she needs to get changed anyway, winks at Jared, and bids Jensen a good night. Jared offers him a beer, but just the thought of drinking _more_ alcohol turns his stomach. Jared grabs a bottle out of the fridge for himself and starts to twist the cap off.

"What's up?" Jensen says, fiddling nervously with a loose thread on his sleeve. He's pretty drunk, and he's not really up for deep conversation right now.

Jared stops fiddling with his beer bottle and puts it down, steps forward, and then all of a sudden, he's kissing Jensen, soft and wet, with his hands around his jaw and his nose pressed into his cheek. Jensen instinctively gasps through his nose and pulls back for a second, but then Jared's tongue goes in his mouth, and he tastes like onions and champagne, and any thought of stopping immediately leaves Jensen's head. He runs his fingers through Jared's hair and wraps his other arm around Jared's waist and pulls him closer, closer, until Jared's warm belly is pressed up against his, and good God, he can tell even through jeans that Jared's half-hard already, which turns him on in some incredibly fucked-up way.

And then, just as suddenly as he started the kiss, Jared pulls away, catching Jensen's bottom lip between his teeth for just a moment. He hovers over Jensen's mouth, eyes closed, just breathing, and Jensen wants to lunge forward and kiss him again, but they're drunk and they're in Sandy's apartment and fuck, it's their _anniversary_ and she's _waiting_ for him. So he lets Jared untangle himself and slink away without making eye contact and mumble, "good night." He waits until the bedroom door closes to leave.

They don't see each other for three days, and every time he kisses Danneel, he thinks of kissing Jared instead, booze-soaked lips and all. He should probably feel awful, but he doesn't, not one bit.

*

Two weeks later, Jensen's having his usual first talk of the day with Eric when some PA comes over and tells them Jared is refusing to come out of his trailer. Jensen doesn't even blink before he leaves, leaving Eric calling after him. He gets to Jared's trailer and knocks on the door. Jared tells him to go away but he jiggles the handle anyway.

"Jay," he says; pauses, listens, hears nothing. "Jay," he says again, "it's me."

The lock clicks a minute later, and Jensen opens the door just in time to see Jared walking away from it. He steps up and into the trailer. Nothing seems out of place, except Jared, who's hunched over and tight-lipped and clearly in a foul mood.

"Hey," Jensen says, and he feels like a fool because he doesn't know what else to say.

Jared snorts, plops himself back into a comfortable-looking and probably still-warm indentation in his couch. "Did they send you to fetch me?"

"No," Jensen says flatly. "No one sent me." He swallows, and sits on the edge of a couch cushion, next to Jared. He rests his elbows on his knees and folds his hands together like he was in church and stares straight ahead. He sits there for a long time, studying the chair against the opposite wall, rubbing his thumbs over each other. After a few minutes, Jared sighs. Jensen looks over at him. His eyes are a little puffy and his jaw is clenching and unclenching at random. "You okay?" Jensen says, not really expecting a straight answer.

"Yeah," Jared says, shaking his bangs out of his eyes and standing up. "Let's go." He starts walking towards the door, but, as if outside himself, Jensen grabs his arm before he gets further than a few steps. They just study each other for a minute, Jared looking scared and confused, Jensen feeling nervous and bold all at once, and then Jensen's other hand lands on the side of Jared's neck and he pulls Jared into a kiss. It's Jared's turn to be tentative this time, but Jensen wraps his fingers around the back of Jared's neck, and Jared melts under his palms, pulls his mouth away for a moment, and exhales like he's been holding it in since That Night At Sandy's that Jensen had assumed was a drunken nothing and tucked away in his memory to pull out when he was having a bad day. Jensen smiles at him, but before he can say anything, Jared snakes his arms around his ribcage and presses his open mouth to Jensen's, and he tastes like sleeping-mouth and flavored coffee and happiness and sunshine and the tiniest hint of relief.

(They don't make it to set on time.)

*

When they see each other for the first time after summer hiatus (that time at that video game thing doesn't count because they didn't come together and they didn't leave together), Jensen's having a bad day. He missed his first flight to Vancouver because his body isn't used to waking up so early, he's been trying to avoid his siblings because they're having this huge fight that he'd rather not be a part of, half his luggage got lost, and it's just past noon and he hasn't eaten since 4:30. He's cranky and tired and he doesn't really want to talk to anyone, except for mumbling some swear words at the PAs that escort him to set. They pass him off to Kim and Eric, who have some harsh words for him, but he doesn't really have the energy to listen to them right now. As they walk by the catering tent, the smell of french fries and cheeseburgers makes his stomach growl and he's very tempted to ditch his bosses and go grab himself some lunch--but then he sees Jared, and nothing else matters. He drops his bag and pushes a chair out of his way and gives Jared the biggest bear hug he possibly can. Jared squeezes him tightly, and he smells like aftershave and grease and sweat, and it's practically intoxicating. And then, when they pull apart, he kisses Jared. It's a quick kiss, a little peck on the mouth, the way old people and twelve-year-olds kiss each other. It catches Jared off-guard, and he's a little breathless when they finally step apart.

"Great to see you, man," Jensen says, letting the grin bubbling in his chest take over his face.

"Yeah," Jared says, "you too."

And then Jensen remembers that he's at work, and notices the PAs eyeing him from the wings of the tent. "Well, I, uh--I gotta--" He points his thumb in the vague direction of his trailer.

"Go become Dean," Jared says, waving at him dismissively. "Yeah, I know."

"See you in a bit," Jensen says, smiles, and walks away before anything else pops out of his mouth that might embarrass him later on, though he's not really sure if he'd care all that much.


End file.
